


hey baby (i think i wanna marry you)

by bisexualhotchner



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 10:31:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20338681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualhotchner/pseuds/bisexualhotchner
Summary: This is just a very short little story about JJ and Will's wedding, with no JJ and Will.Basically, just Hotch and Reid being sweet and mushy.





	hey baby (i think i wanna marry you)

**Author's Note:**

> any inaccuracies regarding jj and will's wedding comes from the fact that i haven't seen that episode yet
> 
> also pls be nice?? this is my very first fic on Ao3 and i'm working without a beta. criticism is absolutely accepted but pls don't word it like a moron because i'm sensitive and cry quick

“When you love someone, you love the person as they are, and not as you'd like them to be.”  
\- Leo Tolstoy.

One of nature's many laws is that it's very likely for the weather to turn more chilly at night, even after warm days in May.

This was also the case on the day of JJ and Will's wedding. The party has been over for a while, and the service workers hired for cleaning have just started sweeping up the last remains of the enormous amounts of white rose petals, the building staff have just begun piling the chairs in tall stacks by the walls of the house. Every one of them wore layered suit jackets and padded cardigans to protect themselves from the weather.

As did Aaron Hotchner, sitting on the bench outside. He took on the role of supervising the staff without even being asked to, as the people responsible for organizing have drove out to catch their plane to New Orleans hours ago. The man was doing exactly that: watching patiently, observing. Maybe even waiting. He crossed his arms in front of him, and this one time, it was only to shelter himself from the cold.

'Blanket?' A sober voice called to him suddenly, pulling him out from his thoughts and into the present. As the man jumped in his place, he realized just how cold the bench was through his dress jacket.

'Thanks.' He murmured softly, taking the picnic blanket from Spencer's extended hand and quickly wrapping it around his own shoulders. Spencer carefully went around the bench to take a seat intimately close to the other. 'Are you really drinking coffee right now?' Hotch raised a displeased brow at the steaming mug in his hand.

'Don't worry about my sleeping schedule. If it weren't for the cold I would fall asleep right here, right now.' The younger flashed him a smile before sipping at his probably overly sweetened coffee gingerly. Aaron smiled back at him softly, then glanced down at the grass instead.

'JJ seemed very happy.'

'She did.' Reid agreed. 'She doesn't have a reason not to be. In the U.S., the statistics of divorces per year have peaked at the '80s - 40% of all North-American marriages have ended with the parties splitting and going their own ways. Since then, this rate has just been dropping each year. If we also consider the dispersion by age groups, those who get married at the age that they did are more likely to stay happy together.'

'I guess those who get married sooner are less likely to stay happy together.' Hotch said, slightly bitter.

'Yes, exactly!' Reid nodded enthusiastically until he saw the face Hotch was making. He dropped his gaze onto his hands - the man was turning on his wedding ring the same way he used to when something was bothering him in a conversation, but not enough to leave the other person hanging.

He must've been staring because Aaron abruptly stopped his ministrations, and channeled his nervous energies into adjusting the blanket on his shoulders. 'I'm sorry.'

'No, I'm... sorry, Hotch.'

'You don't have to apologize for anything. The past is the past. I've moved on, and you know that. At least I hope you do.' He sympathetically patted one of the boy's slim thighs and left his hand to rest on the very top of his bony knee. 'It would be really awkward if you weren't aware of that.'

'You're still wearing your wedding ring.'

'Does that bother you?'

'No, not at all. It just gets me thinking. About... about the reasons. Behind it.' Spencer pondered softly, lowering his coffee mug down the bench. Once his hand was freed, he touched the sturdy hand holding his leg - his touch, even after holding the warm mug was almost uncomfortably cold. Hotch raised his fingers to loosely lock them into Spencer's thin ones.

'You know, I haven't stopped being a husband since I got married. Like I haven't stopped being a father since I had a son.' He said, caressing his thumb along the side of the boy's elegant hand. 'I'm just not Haley's husband anymore.'

Spencer, for the first time in a long time, seemed speechless. He haven't had a fact or a statistic to blurt out and divert the topic. He just stared at the grass in front of him, in the direction of the white garden mats and the now naked tables. Hotch looked at him for a while - watched as he tucked some stray strands of hair behind his ear, watched his Adam's apple bob under a nervous swallow, watched his lips turning in on themselves as Spencer thought of things that would be too embarrassing to say out loud.

That's when it struck him. He jumped up from his seat, startling Reid and dropping he blanket from his shoulders to the grass. He held out his hand for the younger man with an excited glint to his eyes.

'Can I have this dance, sir?'

'You what?' Spencer asked in shock.

'I would like to dance with you.'

'Hotch, I can't dance. Besides, there isn't any music playing.'

'You're a genius. Figure something out.' Aaron grinned, suddenly looking at least ten years younger than his age with the boyish glee that washed over him. Reid's mouth pulled at another thought not to be spoken, but he must have surely been touched by the view because soon he slipped his long fingers into Aaron's big and sturdy palm, letting him pull him up from the bench and swiftly leading him onto the smooth garden mats.

Hotch led and he followed his lead. He only touched his shoulder after Aaron wrapped an arm around his waist, and only took a step backward when Aaron has already moved his foot forward. It was awkward, at first: their shoes clashed. Spencer opened his mouth to apologize, but Hotch gently shushed him before he could even get a syllable out.

On a normal day, he had a hard time establishing and keeping eye contact, but this time was different. This time he looked up at those warm hazel eyes, and let their gentleness wash over him just like how the soft, way slower than three-quarter rhythm swaying had affected him. He snuggled closer into the strong arm holding him, and held his shoulders closer to him, too. His fingers slipped onto the nape of Hotch's neck, nails softly scratching at his short, thick hair. This earned him a low hum and a warm puff of air on his face, closely followed by a long press of thin lips on the side of his head. The sensation was sudden and unexpected, but it was far from unwelcome.

'What's on your mind?' The man whispered into his hairline.

'The song 'Can't Help Falling in Love' by Elvis Presley. Only about twenty times slower.' Spencer answered with a smile, and slipped his fingers out of Aaron's grasp to hold onto his neck with both hands. Hotch reciprocated with a strong lock of his arms around his waist.

'You won't even ask what's going on in mine?'

'I've known you for a long time, I'm sure it's something from The Beatles.'

'I'm actually thinking about being your husband one day.' Aaron whispered in his ear quietly, turning his head and kissing high on his pretty face.

And Spencer, for a second time that night, couldn't find the words to say.


End file.
